Like their little gig at MSG, we found out about Swedish House Mafia’s afterparty a bit early — but not because of any inside information or by paying off doormen, but from one of the mafia men himself. Axwell first tweeted about the gig prematurely, revealing it’d take place at Roseland Ballroom, but it wasn’t until a few weeks ago that we got a proper announcement. After the enormous 20,000 person show at MSG, Roseland offered a more intimate venue for a select 3,500 people who were able to score tickets. SHM spun a set at the afterparty, but it was AN21 and Max Vangeli that really stole the show. Keep reading for some of the highlights.

SHM started their Roseland set at around 2:30AM, and if you read our MSG review — which, you totally did, right? — then you already know most of what they played. While many DA readers in the NY area will not be in this category, most of the people we spoke to at Roseland weren’t at MSG as well, so for them it was like seeing everything brand new. The most notable addition to their set was the inclusion of “Levels,” which we honestly didn’t know what to make of. There’s no denying that the track is something really special in the dance community, but it certainly caught us by surprise showing up in an SHM set. It was dropped early in the night, however, and did make everyone around us smile… And who are we to ever knock anyone for playing the only song to ever pass the Dancing Astronaut Mom Test? The other big addition was Sebastian Ingrosso’s “Hello Mush Mush” bootleg, that again changed up the vibes to a less ravey, more happy kind of feel.

The Roseland stage didn’t hold a candle to the MSG behemoth, but there were still lots of LEDs both in front of the DJ booth and behind it. We really thought SHM would give Kaskade’s Halloween show a run for its money, but that one still takes the cake for best lasers ever in our book. The other notable transformation was the inclusion of a raised table section off the main dance floor, complete with plush white couches and a red velvet rope. We’re told that Provocateur — the ultra exclusive NY nightclub that handled reservations — charged upwards of $15k for each of the tables, not to mention the entire mezzanine level above that was also VIP-only.

While SHM’s set was standard procedure, AN21 and Max Vangeli absolutely smashed Roseland until around 6:30AM. A dead phone battery prevented us from keeping a track-by-track listing of everything that got played, but there are a few standouts you should definitely know. Also, if you haven’t yet listened to their Essential Mix, download it immediately. It’ll give you a good idea of what their set was like, and you can listen to it any time you want.

“People of The Night” and “Whisper” are two tracks on their upcoming album that combine stellar vocals with great melodies. We still haven’t been able to pin down a release date (or even a release window) for this album, but we think AN21 and Max are completely blowing it by delaying so long. The album has a lot of potential to be a game-changing release that could push them to the next level, and they’re losing ground every day it doesn’t get released.

AN21 & Max Vangeli vs Tiesto – People Of The Night

AN21 & Max Vangeli feat. Example – Whisper

“Feel” by Third Party and Cicada is another enormous track that showed up in their Essential Mix and has us absolutely infatuated. The Cicada vocal makes us weak in the knees and the epicness of the track has us even more hooked on Third Party. They also played another of their own tracks “Fresh Start,” which has resonated with us in a great way.

Third Party and Cicada – Feel

AN21 & Max Vangeli – Fresh Start (Original Mix)

AN21 and Max Vangeli have been lucky enough to be under the wing of Swedish House Mafia, and they are definitely using the guidance to their advantage. SHM had a standard, but far more intimate set than at MSG, and we were just thrilled we go to see them twice in the same night. Still, AN21 and Max absolutely stole the afterparty and have messed up our sleep schedules ever since. If you were there, let us know what your favorite moment was in the comments. If you weren’t, there are tons of videos on YouTube to help you feel like you were.

Categories: Music